First-of-its-kind incentive program aims to boost Edmonton's student housing

CBC

15 hours ago

The City of Edmonton is hoping a new housing incentive program will be enough to give downtown the boost it needs, as it works to make the city's core a new hub for affordable student housing.
The city's executive committee voted to recommend a new housing incentive on Wednesday, which could fund up to 500 units of student-specific housing in the city's core over the next four years.
If approved by council, the city will use federal funding to provide eligible developers with up to $30,000 for each new student unit built. The program is being billed as the first of its kind in Canada.
The committee voted all in favour, with members saying it'd help meet an important housing need while bringing more vibrancy into downtown.
"This is a phenomenal start and a great legacy for our downtown," Coun. Anne Stevenson said in the meeting.
Wilfrid Youbi Fansi, vice-president of the Students' Association of MacEwan University, told CBC ahead of Wednesday's meeting that the incentive is very encouraging to see, as safe and affordable units have been hard to come by as the number of students has grown.
MacEwan expects to grow from 20,000 students to 30,000 by 2030, while NorQuest College is anticipating to double in size. U of A across the river, is staring down 50,000 students by 2026.
"It's a mad hunt" each year, Youbi Fansi said, where students have to look out for predatory landlords, scams, and contend with unsafe conditions while meeting a tight budget.
Under the new incentive, units need to be affordable, and cannot exceed average market prices for rentals. They also need to be built with students in mind, and priority is given to development within the city's core with a special focus on an area the city is calling Warehouse Campus near NorQuest.
Priority will be given to developers with a shown expertise in building student housing and who go the extra mile for accessibility.
At the meeting on Wednesday, there was a discussion about whether projects outside the city centre would be given priority. City administration said that projects would be judged on several factors, and strong projects would still be considered, especially if they were close to major public transportation hubs.
University of Toronto housing researcher Carolyn Whitzman said while most of Canada has fallen behind on student housing over the past few decades, policy-makers are beginning to "wake up and smell the coffee."
She says Edmonton already has great housing and development policy generally, but this incentive could put it at the forefront on student housing too.
However, she questions tying rent to average market rates, over what students are able to afford.
During the Wednesday meeting Coun. Jo-Anne Wright asked city administrators if rents would be affordable to students, and if the program would be viable.
Youbi Fansi, who spoke at the meeting, told the committee recent student surveys show students at MacEwan can only afford between $500-$750 a month for rent.
The average market rental rate for a bachelor suite in Edmonton is $1050, while a three-bedroom apartment is $1695 according to the city.
"That's a lot for a student, it's probably more than 30 per cent of their income," Whitzman said. Still, she said it might be the best that can be done right now.
Bill Blais, CEO of Maclab Development Group, applauded the incentive program. But while the funding helps, he said it's difficult to get any project off the ground right now.
The rising costs of construction, with the low rents, on top of a tight timeline for building might make it tough to get student housing going, even with the funding.
"The way they're tying it to a certain rent level may be challenging to achieve especially over the time frames they're talking about," Blais said.
In order to be able to receive the funding from the federal government, the city needs to move quickly. The city is expecting the first round of project selection to finish by September.